RECORD YEAR.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19819, 6 January 1930, Page 3

RECORD YEAR.

DIVORCES IN NEW SOUTH

WALES.

STARTLING FIGURES

(FROM. OU» OKI COBRBSPOXDBST.)

SYDNEY, December g&

A divoTce record for the Commonwealth is to the discredit of New South Wales. From February 17th to December °oth this vear, 1905 divorce petitions were lodged at the Supreme Court. The greatest preceding number of petitions* 1850, was lodged in 1928..Three judges were unable to cope with the rush, and as a result 300 cases have been held over, and will go to swed the number of divorces that must be dealt with next year. During the last twelve months there were about 20,000 marriages in New South Wales, and one authority has estimated that within the same period 7000 cases of disturbance of the marriage condition took place either in the Divorce Court or as the result of some form of separation, private, or judicial. These figures would suggest that one age in every three is doomed to end up on the rocks. This contention may be regarded as too cynical, but it is borne out to a very large extent by the first place the 1850 divorces must be taken as official for the return was supplied by the Court itself, and those who mark the large number of divorce cases that are recorded daily in the Press will probably be surprised that the number was so small. Then in the Children's Court 716 distinct orders were made against husbands who had not supported their wives and families, and in practicallv every case the husband and wife were living apart. In addition many applications were withdrawn for various reasons —usually a reconciliation was not the cause —and it is estimated that the total separations that came under the notice of the Court easily exceeded 1000. That was for the city "alone, so it is probable that in the whole of the State there are at least 3000 separations a year coming under the notice of the Children's Court alone. These figures may be doubted, but the number of maintenance cases that come before the courts, particularly in a time of industrial depression like that which has been experienced in, the State, is remarkable. It is recorded of one street in the city that every woman resident during the year now closing has agplied to the Court for maintenance orders. The figures already quoted bring the total number of separations to close on 5000. A conservative estimate of 1000 must be added to cover those who have deeds of separation drawn up by the legal fraternity, and the total rises to 6000. Then there are those who live apart and say and do nothing about it —say another 1000 couples. Hence the gTand total of 7000 couples.